Kayaking Safety - The EssentialsWatch this short video to learn how youcan insure that your paddling experiencewill be relatively safe for all involved.Training Canoe Newbies Over the years, Cliff Jacobson has formed afew tests to get new canoeists ready to run whitewater rivers. Read all about them.

It's now a motorized boat (when the elect. motor is on it) , ain't that some s**t . I think all states are pretty much on the same page with the "show me the money" registration crap .

But hey , it's a 2 yr. registration , right , So that's $60./yr. to have the privilage of an elect. motor powering your canoe .

The motorized boat requiring a registration makes some sense to me , because an outboard motor has an enviromental impact , fossil fuel ... but an electric motor , what is it , battery lead and sulferic acid disposal when retired (??) .

Talking about batteries , as another has already said ... get a big deep cycle marine batt. , 135 anp. hr. would be great (especially with the 55) , and if you get a spare batt. (best idea) sooner or later , the spare doesn't have to be as big as the main batt. if you don't want it to (it's a spare for back-up) .

Just think of amp. hrs. as how much fuel (run time) you got on board , more is better than less is my moto .

You can take your time in deciding if you want to shorten the shaft ... not a problem if you do , just remember you can't lengthen it again nearly as easy as you shortened it .

That 55 Traxxis is going to be pretty fast on your canoe , but nothing says you have to open it up full throtle . Less throtle demand also uses less juice thanks to the Maximizer .

The batt. life light indicator on the motor head is a neat thing ... just remember , the motor has to be "not running" to get the "accurate read" . If you test it while it's running you'll get a surprise "low" reading , even on fully charged batts. , lol .

If running in rocky rivers or chance of shallows where motor pod can contact river/lake bottom or high rocks , I always suggest you rig the motor tilt lock to stay "un-locked" . That way you have the best chance for the motor pod to bounce off the object as opposed to getting hung on it and spinning your canoe ... you understand what I just said , don't you ?? The more powerful the motor , the faster you can go ... the faster you go , the more severe a pod hang will affect a canoe . The motor will jump a little in reverse if you gun it and don't lock it first , just something to keep in mind .

Two bank charger for two batts. , 1 bank for single batt. ... each bank should have 10 amp. charging output , less just won't take good care of your batts. , they have to be heated up real good on initial hot charge cycle , this is the word from the all the learners who came before you and found out the hard way .

The 55 is almost 25% more power than the 45 , and you can see it in the pod size difference too .

Don't forget to add "wings" to your canoe now before take-off . Have fun and let us know how it's going . Better yet , tell us a fish story !!